Pity Me and other places...Must Watch

Our correspondent spends the final leg of India's tour of England guzzling wine, ogling the fashion-crazy, musing in parks, and relishing the countryside

	The Hampshire dressing room cake: Who'd cut this? © ESPNcricinfo Ltd Enlarge
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September 2
Pity Me is the name of a place in Durham county. The cabbie is not surprised. "A mate of mine comes from No Place. Now he has been caught a few times for speed driving. Each time the cop asks him, 'Where you from?' this guy says, 'No Place'. The cop repeats the question. 'No Place' is the answer," the cabbie, who is from Sunderland, says in his north-east England accent.

September 4
You know London is getting ready for the 2012 Olympics when you see big train stations like Waterloo, St Pancras International, and Euston adorned with Olympic rings. You can take a trip to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford on a bicycle along the canal for about a couple of miles. The main stadium does not turn heads in its unfinished state, so comparisons with the other European cities which have hosted the global event will have to wait. The Olympic mascot is Wenlock, inspired by Much Wenlock, a tiny place in Shropshire, where Baron Pierre de Coubertin got the idea of the modern Olympics after watching the Much Wenlock Games, which were inspired by the Olympic Games of ancient Greece.

September 7
Intelligent Life, a magnificent quarterly magazine (a bi-monthly going forward) on culture and food, has an engaging cover story on which city is the global capital of the world. For the moment let's stick to London. Food is an important yardstick if you are aspiring for the crown of "global capital", and London has an amazing palette of foods from all over the world. But it still is difficult for regular folk to find a good place to drink wine in a city where there is virtually a pub for every 10 people. So to find an exclusive wine bar in this sea of ale is a revelation. Gordon's Wine Bar - at the foot of Embankment bridge - is said to be one of the oldest of its kind in the city. If you like your red, ask for the St Emilion, 2005.

September 6
In England the counties take pride in decorating their legends. Statues, murals, stands, paintings and benches honour those who brought fame to the team. But Hampshire takes the cake, literally. At tea during the second ODI there is a cake decorated with the image of an all-time Hampshire dressing room. To the right sit Andy Roberts and Gordon Greenidge, looking at Malcolm Marshall and Shane Warne in conversation. In the background, to the left, are Robin Smith and Barry Richards. But who is the gent in whites at the extreme left?

September 8
Vogue Fashion Week's final evening is an annual pilgrimage for fashionistas and the hordes of people who queue up for hours outside the famous fashion labels on the lane that connects Green Park to Bond Street. They enjoy free flutes of champagne and wine, but the reason they flock in their thousands is the large discounts on offer on the clothes and accessories. An enduring image is that of real-life men and women posing as mannequins in the window of DAKS.

September 9
Kapil Dev is commentating on All India Radio, India's oldest and biggest national radio broadcaster. Till the 1990s, when cable television invaded households, Indians followed cricket in India and around the globe via AIR. Like they did their house keys, millions carried transistor radios around with them to listen to cricket commentary. Sadly, despite having the widest reach, AIR has lost its appeal. But Kapil has a solution. "Get important voices from every state as guests on the radio channel. That is one good way to attract more audience."

September 10
Londoners like to spend time in parks, museums and galleries. So to the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion, in Hyde Park, where Peter Zumthor, a famous Swiss architect has constructed a "garden within a garden", otherwise known as "hortus conclusus", also the name of the exhibit. It's bewildering at first but once you sit inside, in front of the rectangular enclosed garden of wild flowers, and observe people around you lost in their conversations, you begin to understand why Zumthor says the garden is a sanctuary. The roof is left open yet you are cut off from the outside.

September 12
Alan Davidson is inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame. Mark Nicholas asks if it is an honour. The fact that the ICC has inducted quite a few players who are no more is not lost on Davidson. "Better than getting it posthumously."

September 14
The final day of the inaugural World Cricket Business Forum, hosted by the ICC, designed for "providing strategies for growing the global game". An insightful comment comes from one of the top businessmen who avidly followed the two-day event. "Let us get this clear - most of the people are not here for development. They are all here for money.

September 15
Lancashire are celebrating their County Championship triumph. For a county famous for its tough industrial background, it's something of a surprise to see pictures of players in tearful joy. Have you ever seen Sir Viv Richards cry? No way, you may shout. But he did. Exactly 18 summers ago, after leading Glamorgan to Sunday League victory against Kent.

September 16
A strange cricket tour has come to an end. The mind is numb with all that has happened in the last two months. What a relief, then, to travel by road through Wales into the English countryside. It is a beautiful time of year too, with autumn in full bloom. Trees of all colours - burgundy, purple, golden, red, yellow - offer stark contrast to the greener plains they stand upon. In the distance is a rainbow. It feels surreal. The countryside is a delight on a good day, and today is definitely one as we pass Ross-on-Wye. Goodbye, then.

Eyeing the orange future....Must Watch

Cricket has survived for hundreds of years in the Netherlands - if not exactly thrived. The current board is hoping to change that, with some help from across the channel........

On July 10 last year Netherlands played Spain in the football World Cup final at the grandly named Soccer City in Johannesburg. A packed stadium shook with the cheers of 84,490 deliriously joyful fans - and their vuvuzelas - as Spain triumphed over the Dutch courtesy an extra-time goal by Andrés Iniesta. The evening was a riot of hype and colour beamed to an audience of hundreds of millions worldwide.

On the same day, on an uncelebrated field in Rotterdam, Netherlands played Afghanistan for the honour of third place in the World Cricket League Division One competition. And lost. Understandably, the nation's thoughts were elsewhere.

The difference between the two matches provides a handy scale to measure the extent of the challenge faced by the Koninklijke Nederlandse Cricket Bond (KNCB), the Dutch cricket board. Sitting atop the Associate pile, yet nowhere near to cracking into cricket's elite circle, with a proud cricketing history that stretches back two centuries, but an uncertain future, Dutch cricket is in a liminal space between amateur and professional.

"We live in a dichotomous environment whereby the national team is ranked 12th in the world, the national women's team is ranked 10th in the world, and yet the sport in its own country is ranked somewhere in the mid-30s due to the lack of players," Richard Cox, chief executive of the KNCB, told ESPNcricinfo. "So you can see that they're in some ways more well known outside of their own country for cricket than they are within it."

While the average Dutch citizen might be surprised to find out that their country even has a national cricket team, Netherlands' cricketers have clearly done something right for the game to have been kept alive in the country for this long. Cricket was first seen being played on Dutch soil in the 1780s by an English traveller in Scheveningen, and by the turn of the 20th century, Dutch teams were touring England regularly.

Cricket even found enough of a following to survive the German occupation of the country between May 1940 and May 1945. The sport, famously dismissed as "unmanly and un-German" and "insufficiently violent" by Adolf Hitler himself, endured thanks in no small part to the dogged enthusiasm of local players, who shrugged off the requisitioning of grounds and restrictions on weekend travel - not to mention the presence of thousands of heavily armed Nazis and the bombing of the main sports dealers in Rotterdam - to organise as many as 300 matches a year. All of a sudden the early retirement of the talented Daan van Bunge doesn't seem so insurmountable a problem.

Cricket can only be carried so far on the inspired performances of individuals, however, and the struggle to survive has made the managers of Dutch cricket necessarily industrious. They have in Cox a chief executive of enviable pedigree and experience. He spent 21 years in Warwickshire's set-up, and was appointed director of their cricket academy in 2006, after which he played an active role in bringing the Dutch allrounder Tim Gruijters into the academy scheme.

Cox was also instrumental in the organisation, management and development of club cricket across Warwickshire as the county's director of cricket. His club experience will have stood him in good stead in the Netherlands, where cricket has not escaped the common Associate malaise of a lack of a first-class cricket structure, due to which development has been aimed at the grassroots, on the logic that an organic, vibrant club scene will provide a solid foundation for further progress.

"We've got 6500 cricketers in this country," explained Cox. "So you have to raise the base really to professionalise the top. We're very much at the moment about creating a stronger base of youth cricket and stronger structures in our coaching development to move the game forward rapidly.

"We also recognise that we have about 1100 young cricketers here, and we try to sustain a programme of age-group cricket from Under-12 to Under-19 for our youngsters' development. And we need to broaden that base, so we're in the final process at the moment of putting a big youth plan together in consultation with all the clubs, parents, board members, and anybody else who should be consulted in the process, to start, hopefully, in January next year."

Cox, who also served on a variety of panels for the England & Wales Cricket Board, has worked to strengthen and maintain Dutch cricket's links with the ECB. "We're supported by them in terms of being able to enter their competitions, which is very, very important to us," he said. "Without them, our international programme would be very limited and would be also very costly. Getting across to England isn't too bad.

"But if we only played international cricket we would not develop our players, and we do very much need the CB40 and the women's competitions that we're in. We also get support from them in coaching and coach development and education. We run coach education programmes; they send tutors over and assess us. The links are strong. My background is with a county, so I've tried to make sure we maintain those."

Netherlands' continued involvement in domestic limited-overs cricket in England has begun to bear fruit, and this season the men's team registered wins over Yorkshire (home and away), Derbyshire, Kent and Worcestershire.

The Dutch women, who, unlike the men, have both Test and ODI status, courtesy their ranking in the top 10, have been even better. Under Cox's watch the ladies' team has blossomed in the women's County Championship, maintaining a season-long unbeaten streak this summer and storming to a third successive promotion since 2009. In 2011 they brought home two ECB trophies, winning the Midlands T20 championship and Division Three of the County Championship, having beaten the likes of Worcestershire, Lancashire and Scotland to secure their promotion. They also have two ICC Europe trophies in the bag, and the World Cup qualifier in Bangladesh in November beckons.

There is, as always, plenty more to be done. Increasing professionalism is a vital step. Cox explained that while Netherlands have just three part-time contracted players at the moment, the plan is to take on at least three full-time contracted players, two part-time contracts, and two academy contracts for young, homegrown players thought to have a bright future. "So that's a stepping stone for us. And then we hope those numbers will grow. But we need the system to be in place to allow them to be professional, and to be playing a lot, not occasionally.

"If we're looking to do any more, it would be to play full members on a more regular basis, here in the Netherlands," said Cox. "That would provide profile, context and opportunity. Even if we could play A teams, that would be helpful, and that would be a starter to maintaining stronger links and playing better cricket.

"We'd like to be embedded in a programme with ECB, at all levels, not just the CB40, but also our Under-19s, our Under-17s, possibly even our Under-15s, because that will give us continuity and a vision for our young players to see what the opportunities are out there. We'd like to be embedded in an ODI league which allows promotion and relegation, embedded in an opportunity to enter World Cups and be truly part of a global game. I'm sure anything is possible, but there's a lot of hard work to be done."

Cox had the chance to plead his team's case at the World Cricket Business Forum - a meeting of chief executives, business leaders and ICC representatives - in London this week, while the recommendations that may flow from the Lord Woolf report will also have a significant bearing on the future of Dutch cricket.

In the end, though, it all comes back to the grassroots. In an ever-changing cricket landscape, the game needs to be safeguarded at home first. The lack of interest in cricket in the country has been a serious concern for Netherlands' status as an Associate, but if Dutch boys and girls can be brought into, and kept in, the game, the future could be bright. It could be orange.

Pakistan aim for clean sweep...Must Watch

Zimbabwe v Pakistan, 2nd Twenty20, Harare

 

Match facts

September 18, Harare Sports Club
Start time 1400 (1200 GMT)

Big Picture

Pakistan are on the verge of completing a clean sweep of Zimbabwe across all formats of the game. Victory in the second Twenty20 will see them finish off a hugely successful tour, in which they have been tested at times but have come out on top on each occasion. It would be a fitting farewell for Waqar Younis, who will take charge of the team for the last time on Sunday. The tour has been free of the usual infighting and controversy and to end it in that fashion will be significant as well.

One of the aims for Pakistan was to introduce new players and change combinations and so far, they have done that successfully. Aizaz Cheema has had a dream start in international cricket, while Yasir Shah, Junaid Khan and Sohail Khan have also showed promise. Sohail Tanvir and Younis Khan have made convincing comebacks, as has Imran Farhat, though Shoaib Malik still has some work to do. For captain Misbah-ul-Haq, the tour has been an important passage for his leadership and he has led with eloquence and aplomb and would like to leave on a winning note.

Zimbabwe will want nothing more than for the nightmare to end after struggling to compete with an opponent who have pushed, pummelled and eventually punished them. Their inexperience at the top level has been exposed and they have struggled to construct innings on the one hand and contain the opposition on the other. Of even greater concern will be their ineptitude in the field, where they have been sub-standard and put down numerous chances. As a team, they once prided themselves on their fielding and to have performed so poorly will have been a major disappointment.

All is not lost yet, though. Victory in the remaining match will not mean much but it will give the team the self belief they need to go forward. They may have written this series off already and decided to focus on New Zealand but will do themselves a favour by treating the last match as seriously as any other, especially because Pakistan do not appear to have one foot on the plane and will give them a tough, final workout.

Form guide (most recent first)

Zimbabwe LLLL
Pakistan WLWLL

In the spotlight

He was the only Zimbabwe batsmen to show any signs of a fight and all eyes will be on Charles Coventry to see if he can take his team over the line. Coventry is still best remembered for his 194 against Bangladesh in 2009 but has failed to live up the reputation he created for himself in that match. Many fans have enquired about why he was left out of the original Test and ODI sides and the simple truth is that Coventry has had a run of poor form, especially after being pushed to open the batting at the World Cup, and has done little to deserve his place. But, he is a big hitter and has excellent temperament and Zimbabwe cricket know they need him. Now, he needs to deliver.

Rameez Raja was one of Pakistan's most talked about debutants but his eventual appearance was a bit of an anti-climax. He stepped into a situation that demanded he fill big shoes because Asad Shafiq and Mohammad Hafeez had laid an impressive foundation and perhaps Rameez was overwhelmed with needing to build on it. Locals have talked him up a serious talent though and his domestic stats support that. Although he has only played six twenty-over matches, he has scored 261 runs at an average of 43.50 and a strike rate of 148.29. With nothing to lose, he may just have the freedom he needs to showcase his talent on the big stage.

Team news

Zimbabwe may not want to risk going in to the match with only three frontline bowlers, picking two of Kyle Jarvis, Brian Vitori and Chris Mpofu and one spinner in Ray Price. But if they want to lengthen their batting line-up, that may be their only option. If they want a more attacking spinner, Prosper Utseya could replace Price. Vitori was battling a shin niggle and if he is fit, may come in for Mpofu, who was wayward and expensive in the previous match.

Zimbabwe (probable): 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Chamu Chibhabha, 3 Cephas Zhuwao, 4 Hamilton Masakadza, 5 Brendan Taylor, 6 Charles Coventry, 7 Tatenda Taibu, 8 Elton Chigumbura, 9 Ray Price/Prosper Utseya, 10 Kyle Jarvis, 11 Chris Mpofu/Brian Vitori

Pakistan don't need to change too much and they are unlikely to as they try to create continuity in their starting XI. Junaid Khan may be given an opportunity in the shortest format at the expense of Sohail Khan but the rest of the line-up should be unchanged.

Pakistan (probable): 1 Mohammad Hafeez, 2 Asad Shafiq, 3 Rameez Raja, 4 Misbah-ul-Haq, 5 Shoaib Malik, 6 Umar Akmal, 7 Sohail Tanvir, 8 Saeed Ajmal, 9 Sohail Khan/Junaid Khan, 10 Aizaz Cheema, 11 Yasir Shah

Pitch and conditions

Batting will remain a pleasure on the pitch in Harare, but, as the previous match showed, there as something in it for the bowlers too. Movement and bounce was on offer for bowlers who were able to bowl disciplined lines and lengths. The outfield is quick and boundaries should be plentiful. With it being a summer Sunday, a large crowd can be expected to see Pakistan for the last time on this tour.

Stats and trivia

• Misbah-ul-Haq's best season of T20 cricket was in 2007-08, when Pakistan reached the final of the World T20. He scored 338 runs in 10 matches that season at an average of 67.60.
• Brendan Taylor's highest T20 score is 60 not out. He scored that in Zimbabwe's shock win over Australia in the 2007 World T20.

 

India in England 2011....Must Watch

Flower wants England to retain hunger

  England coach, has said the successful blooding of a new generation of cricketers in the recent one-day series against India will provide an extra incentive for his senior players in the Test team to build on the high standards they produced in their rise to the top of the world rankings.

Speaking in the aftermath of England's impressive six-wicket win in the fifth and final ODI in Cardiff - a result which handed them a comprehensive 3-0 scoreline - Flower reflected that the international season "couldn't have gone much better". Nevertheless, he warned of the dangers of self-satisfaction creeping into the squad's mentality, and said any player who dared to rest on his laurels risked paying for that attitude with his place.

"I am delighted with the way the summer has gone, but at the risk of repeating ourselves we don't just want to put our feet up and say, 'Gee, it's a lovely little time we have had together'," said Flower. "If people aren't hungry enough then I don't think they will keep up with the side. They will drop out or be dropped out.

"The hunger is very important because it drives you to train harder, it drives you to get out of bed early in the morning to go training. It drives you to do the extra work and to do your skills practice. To keep the weight off your body. It drives you to be inquisitive about maximising your potential.

"If there is any self-satisfaction or too much contentment it can take you into a dangerous place. Our philosophy is to look forward and at the challenges ahead as opposed to those behind us. If you do look behind you, you are not planning properly for the future."

The dramatic arrival of the 21-year-old Yorkshire batsman Jonny Bairstow is a case in point. His nerveless debut innings of 41 not out from 21 balls not only secured a notable victory in a stiff run-chase in Cardiff, it served notice of the talent challenging for regular places in the England team, and reminded those players currently on the sidelines - Eoin Morgan and Kevin Pietersen among them - that competition is healthy.

"I can't remember a debut like that," said Flower. "It was very clean and impressive hitting. Not many people can strike it as cleanly as that. Not many people are that talented. He should be very proud of his performance and it is great to make an impact in international cricket straightaway, but let's all keep level heads about it. Talk is cheap, but he did it with his actions, and he will continually be asked questions to repeat his performances out there in the middle when the pressure is on."

As Flower suggested, Bairstow's "innocence" at international level may have helped him to shrug off the pressures of the match situation, and play each of his 21 balls on its merits. Though he wouldn't be drawn on specific matters of selection ahead of the tour of India next month, Flower used an analogy from his own playing days with Zimbabwe to highlight the situation that England have now reached, with so many candidates pressing their claims for places in England's various teams.

"What it does re-emphasise to me is that opportunity is very important," said Flower. "When we were given Test status, I was a little skeptical that we deserved it as a Test-playing nation, but I thought, 'wow, what an opportunity'. I never thought I'd play international cricket. You've been given a chance, try to do something with it. These young guys have been given a chance and it's very interesting to see how they've done against similar opposition. I think that's been very informative for everyone and very exciting for the future of English cricket."

England's one-day campaign hasn't just been about Bairstow's performance. Steven Finn filled the void left by James Anderson and Stuart Broad in Cardiff with his best spell to date in one-day cricket, while Jade Dernbach has shown the potential to become a truly innovative bowler, even if he hasn't quite learned when to use his many slower-ball variations. Ravi Bopara overcame a torrid start to the series to produce key innings in each of the last three games, and Flower was delighted with the overall direction of his team.

"The guys have been grabbing their opportunities, which is outstanding," said Flower. "We have got a little bit of exposure into Ben Stokes - it has been exciting working with him - he is an exciting young player and a really good young man. Dernbach has got more exposure and experience against a really good one-day side, so a lot of good things have happened.

"We've won in difficult situations - it has been a really good series in that regard," added Flower. "We rested KP, we played Bell at No. 4, then through injuries other people have got chances. Finn, in the two chances we have given him, has been outstanding. His figures don't suggest so but he looked really exciting as a fast bowler and he is going to be an integral part of the England attack over the next few years. Bairstow last night got his one chance and grabbed it with both hands, and it was nice for Ravi to see it right through to the end last night."

On a personal note, Flower was adamant that his own hunger for the England job matches that which he expects of his charges, not least having witnessed the sort of potential that has been displayed in the past fortnight.

"I am excited," he said. "I have only been doing this job two-and-a-half years and a lot has happened - it is amazing how quickly things happen. When I was given the job I said I wanted to make a difference and I still hope that can occur in the next couple of years. I am very proud of the way the guys are performing and it is interesting to see how the three captains [approach] pans out.

"I am sure most coaches are the same - coaches or captains - you shouldn't need motivation to play for your country. There are plenty of reasons to be motivated. It is more about channeling that energy and making sure it is organised and making sure, as far as possible, individuals are maximising their potential. I don't think it is so much motivation - it is more how we manage that.

"The side is going to vary along the way but English cricket has good resources - both financial and human. There are proud cricketing nations out there that are just as hungry as us so it is going to be a good battle. We can achieve very good things. That was a very young side we had out there - Swann I assume was the oldest - so that is a very young side to beat India."

 

Sri Lanka lose Sangakkara and Mahela

Sri Lanka v Australia, 3rd Test, Colombo, 3rd day

Lunch Sri Lanka 250 for 4 (Sangakkara 79, M Jayawardene 51, Dilshan 29*, Mathews 15*) trail Australia 316 by 66 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Australia picked up the key wickets of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene on the third morning in Colombo, but Sri Lanka remained on target to take a first-innings lead. At lunch, Sri Lanka had reached 250 for 4, and they were 66 runs behind, with the captain Tillakaratne Dilshan enjoying his move down the order, on 29, and Angelo Mathews on 15.

Dilshan had struck six boundaries, happy to use the pace of the new ball to his advantage with some well-timed drives, although the Australians knew he was a chance to be caught in the cordon. Michael Clarke relied exclusively on his fast men during the session, with a hint of reverse-swing during the first hour and then the new ball taken in the second hour.

Sri Lanka were looking good early as the Sangakkara-Jayawardene partnership continued to thrive. However, just after Jayawardene brought up his half-century with an upper-cut for four off Watson, he perished for 51 when he drove at Watson and edged behind when the ball moved just a fraction away from him.

It was a wicket against the run of play, Australia having had few encouraging moments in the 101-run partnership. The news was even better for the visitors when Peter Siddle struck in the first over with the new ball, when he found some extra bounce and nipped the ball just far enough off the seam away from the left-hander Sangakkara to entice an edge.

Sangakkara had made 79 and looked good for a century in his hundredth Test, but his departure left Sri Lanka four down and still 106 runs adrift of Australia. However, by lunch, the Sri Lankans had added 84 to their overnight score, and with Dilshan and Mathews at the crease, they were looking at a good chance to overtake Australia during the second session.

 

India lose 5th ODI, end England tour winless

Cardiff: A power-packed knock by debutant Jonny Bairstow (41 off 21) and some useful contributions by Ravi Bopara (37 off 22), Jonathan Trott (63 off 60) and Ian Bell (26 off 21) helped England beat India by six wickets (D/L method) and sent the visitors home without a single win on their dismal tour.

Chasing a daunting target of 305 set by India, thanks to a brilliant century (107 off 93 deliveries) by Virat Kohli, England got a revised target of 241 in 34 overs after rain interrupted play yet again. They reached there with ten balls remaining to win the fifth and final ODI in Cardiff on Friday.

India, plagued by the intermittent rains and yet another injury, this time to Munaf Patel (the tenth player Indian to have got injured on this tour), displayed another listless show as far as their bowling was concerned, with both the medium-pacers and spinners going for plenty.

A breezy knock

Making his debut, the 21-year-old Bairstow played a quick-fire innings, hitting towering sixes as he stitched a match-winning partnership of 75 runs in just 40 balls with Ravi Bopara (37 not out off 22) at the end of England"s innings. The Yorkshireman got the man-of-the match for his breezy knock, which came at just the right time for England.

A dramatic over by Kohli

Earlier, after being hit for a boundary, the gentle medium pace of Kohli was good enough to entice Alastair Cook play a false stroke, but Dravid dropped a sitter while fielding at short fine leg. But the England skipper failed to read the slower delivery from the bowler and was bowled on the very next ball.

A game-changing over

With the ball hardly getting any spin from the wet pitch, Trott and Bell then took full control of the situation to lay the early foundations. They hit the slow left-arm spin of Ravindra Jadeja for three sixes in one over, thus giving England a clear momentum. The over cost India 21 runs.

One shot too many

India finally got a breakthrough as Ian Bell perished, caught by substitute Manoj Tiwary off RP Singh for 26. After 25 overs, England were164-3, still needing 77 runs off 54 balls.

Then Jadeja, who had gone for 21 runs in his previous over, was brought on by Dhoni and provided the important wicket of Trott (63 off 60 balls). India looked to be back in the game, only for Bairstow to come to the party and spoil Rahul Dravid"s swansong.

Dravid-Kohli stand

For India, Kohli joined Dravid (69 off 79 balls) when India lost the wicket of Parthiv Patel with the score at 57-2, and the two batsmen kept the scoreboard moving, first with singles and then with occasional boundaries.

Both were going neck-to-neck till they entered their forties, but Kohli changed gears after completing his half-century in 54 deliveries. And Dravid, with the experience of 343 matches behind him, didn't mind to playing second fiddle to the young Delhi batsman. They complimented each other well and brought on the 100-run stand in 112 balls.

The two batsmen consolidated the Indian innings and took the visitors" to 133-2 at the end of 30 overs.

Dravid followed Kohli and reached to his half-century in 62 balls. But immediately after completing the landmark, he was dropped on 51 by Jade Dernbach off his own bowling.

The 170-run stand (off 160 balls) between the two batsmen ended with the wicket of Dravid, who was bowled after failing to pick Graeme Swann's flighted delivery.

A Royal send off:

Not only the thousands of NRIs, who had come in large numbers to cheer for one of their favourite heroes, but the Indian players in the dressing room balcony as well gave Dravid a good round of applause after the 38-year-old got out playing in his last innings in the Indian blue jersey. Every England player on the park also did not hesitate to give the classy batsman a pat on his back.

Dhoni then made full use of the launch pad set by centurion Kohli and Dravid to take India to a massive 304/6.

A forgetful day for Samit Patel

After dropping a sitter of Ajinkya Rahane (26 off 47 balls) earlier in the innings, the slow left-arm bowler grassed the prized wicket of Dhoni in death overs. His bowling figures of 55 in eight overs illustrated the sort of a day the Nottinghamshire player had on the field on Friday.

Pacer Amir pleads guilty in spot-fixing case

 After maintaining innocence for more than a year, banned Pakistan pacer Mohammad Amir on Friday confessed his involvement in a match-fixing scandal that rocked the cricket world last year.

According to sources, the young fast bowler submitted his written confession during a hearing at the Southwark Crown Court in London.

Amir, 19, was one of the three leading Pakistani cricketers who were banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after being found guilty of spot-fixing during Pakistan"s fourth Test against England at Lord"s in 2010.

However, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif the other two players involved in the spot-fixing scandal maintain their silence over the issue.

According to reports, bookie Mazhar Majeed has also submitted his written confession at the London court.

Mazhar, who claims to be a player agent, was at the centre of the controversy which was triggered after a British tabloid carried out a sting operation during Pakistan"s tour of England last year.

News of the World, the British tabloid which is now closed, revealed in its sensational story that Asif and Amir bowled deliberate no-balls during the Lord's Test on the instructions of bookies. The International Cricket Council had banned Amir from all forms of cricket for a period of five years.

T20: Hafeez stars as Pak beat Zim by 85 runs

Pakistan stamped their authority over Zimbabwe at Harare Sports Club on Friday, winning the first of two Twenty20 matches by a huge 85 runs.

Mohammad Hafeez was the star of the show, scoring 71 before taking four wickets.

Pakistan raced to 198 for four - a record against Zimbabwe - with the highest previously set by South Africa with 194-6 at Kimberley last year.

Then they bundled out Zimbabwe for 113 in the 16th over, condemning the home side to a fifth successive loss to the tourists, who also won the one-off Test as well as three one-day internationals.

"Everyone is taking up their responsibility. Especially Hafeez, the way he's gone. Asad Shafiq too played very well," said Pakistan skipper Misbah Ul Haq.

"We just wanted the top order to play normal cricketing shots, and that's just what they did. The credit for the fielding goes to both coaches. Everyone understands how important this aspect of the game is these days, and the boys have worked hard to get to this level."

Brendan Taylor won the toss for Zimbabwe and put Pakistan into bat. Hafeez and Asad Shafiq responded by racing to 34 in three overs and the tone was set with 10 boundaries struck off the first 27 balls.

Shafiq's 38 came off 34 balls and man-of-the-match Hafeez's 71 required only 48.

Near the end of the innings, when Pakistan were attempting to clear the 200 mark, Sohail Tanveer hit five balls off the last over available to him for 15 runs.

Zimbabwe were never going to get close to the 199 set to them for victory, and apart from Chamu Chibhabha's 28 and Charles Coventry's 30, there was next to no resistance.

The home side found themselves at two down for 13 and then 37 for three with the match already wrapped by Misbah Ul Haq's side. Opener Vusi Sibanda's dismissal came from a wonderful overhead catch by Misbah, while the run-out of Tatenda Taibu by Hafeez was remarkable for speed and throwing accuracy.

Pakistan play Zimbabwe again in Harare on Sunday in the tour finale.

Sri Lanka news: 3rd Test: SL reach 86/1 at Tea, Aus 316

Sri Lanka reached a solid 86-1 at Tea after dismissing Australia for 316 in their first innings of the third Test on Saturday.

Mike Hussey made 118 for Australia in his second century of the series.

Openers Tharanga Paranavitana and Lahiru Thirimanne gave the hosts a good start to the second day, sharing 56 runs for the first wicket before seamer Peter Siddle bowled Thirimanne for 28.

Paranavitana was batting on 40 with Kumar Sangakkara on 18 in his 100th Test.

Eng vs Ind, 5th ODI: Statistical Highlights

 India signed off their nightmarish tour of England without a win as they were spanked by six wickets in the rain-marred fifth and final one-dayer bringing a disappointing end to veteran Rahul Dravid's illustrious ODI cricket career here.

Here are the statistical highlights of the fifth and final ODI between India and England:

# Alastair Cook is the first England captain to win all five tosses in a bilateral series and the second English captain in ODIs. In the 1999 World Cup, Alec Stewart had won all five tosses.

# Virat Kohli (107) became the second Indian batsman to post a hundred against England in England.

# Kohli's knock is the highest by an Indian batsman against England in England, surpassing Sachin Tendulkar's 105 not out at Chester-le-Street on July 4, 2002.

# Kohli became the sixth Indian batsman after Sachin Tendulkar (three), Rahul Dravid (twice), Sourav Ganguly, Kapil Dev and Ajay Jadeja to post a hundred in ODIs in England.

# Kohli has posted six centuries in ODIs - two against Bangladesh and one each against Sri Lanka, England, Australia and New Zealand.

# Kohli has posted three hundreds each in India and away from home.

# Jonathan Trott (63 off 60 balls) recorded his first fifty against India - his 14th in ODIs.

# Bopara and Bairstow managed 75 (unbroken) in only 40 balls at a run rate of 11.25 - England's second best for the fifth wicket in terms of run-rate.

# On his debut in ODIs, Jonny Bairstow received the Man of the Match for registering an unbeaten match-winning 41 off 21 balls - his strike rate being 195.23.

# England's 3-0 series victory is their largest in a bilateral series against India without losing a single ODI.

# India (304/6) posted their fifth total of 300 or more against England in England in ODIs.

# India posted their highest total in international games against England in 2011, outstripping their 300 in The Oval Test.


source:cricketnext